On 6th of December 2007, 20 delegates together with trip supervisor Mr. Anderson Lim embarked on a journey to the “hottest” place on the earth during the coldest time of the year – Middle East. A delegation made up of nine different nationalities from diverse fields of study ranging from engineering to arts and social science spent a total of 25 days together in three different nations, namely Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Egypt. This Middle East business trip was organized by NUS Business Incubation of Global Organization (NUS BINGO) with generous sponsorship from various faculties like Engineering, Computing, Science and Business.

Some of the highlights of this business trip would be meeting the CEO and managers from Doha Bank, Standard Chartered and Emirates Bank. Having visited both conventional bank and Islamic banks, we have gained a deeper understanding of the banking industry. Besides that, we also paid a visit to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company which is one of the biggest oil companies in UAE. Having visited Qatar Science and Technology Park and the education city, we also learnt the way the Qatar government structure it’s planning to diversify its economies.

Without any doubt, a visit to Al Jazeera Doha headquarters had been truly enlightening. Never did we realize their courage in circumventing censorship and contributing to the free exchange of information until after the trip. Moreover, all of us were also given a chance to tour inside the one and only seven star luxury hotel in the world – Burj Al Arab. Being an iconic structure for Dubai, we were simply astonished by its size and grandeur.

Throughout the whole trip, we had also been visiting some of the universities in different nations, such as Qatar University, American University of Dubai, Aim Shams University and a few others in Qatar education city. We have managed to make some good friends from the universities and some of us are still keeping in contact with each other.

Besides all these company visits and university visits, we did not forget to give ourselves some free time in touring. An evening spent in desert safari was not only fun and relaxing; we had also managed to understand more about the Arabic cultures. Egypt, being an important political and cultural nation of the Middle East, had offered us numerous historical sites to visit, such as Karnak Temple, Valleys of the King, the Great Sphinx and many museums. Of course we did not miss out one of the Seven Wonders of the World – the Giza Pyramid.

Middle East, a destination ignored by many due to its groundless myths about security and accessibility, promises a lot of economic potential and business opportunities in the 21st century. Oil-rich states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – are buoyed by unprecedented oil prices and they are certainly awash with cash and enjoying a transformational moment. All of us have broadened our horizons of knowledge, both in the business world and the Arabic cultures. We have gained a deeper understanding of Middle East as a place to conduct business activities and the way to interact with the Arabic people. More than three weeks of true adventure, with surprises everyday and enriching contact with the Arabic cultures, has forged a very close friendship between all of us which I believe will last for a lifetime. The reward from this business trip is definitely gratifying!

(Written By: Chew Gui Liang)